Review:inFamous

Developer: Sucker Punch| Publisher: SCEE | Format: PS3

Reviewer: Craig Jay Gallagher

Hype, it’s a dangerous entity. It can raise expectations  to such levels that no matter how good the finished product it can’t come close to meeting the expectation of the fevered masses. inFamous comes to us with a hell of a lot of anticipation, it’s been a long, long time since any game has received so much coverage and in the age old tradition of hype the game can’t possibly come close to being all that it promises. That it not only comes close to be great but is in fact magnificent is something that few expected. So good is inFamous that for the past two weeks this reviewer has dedicated more hours to it than sleep.

The story finds our protagonist Cole caught up in an earth shattering explosion which wipes out six blocks of Empire city. thousands are killed and the city is placed under quarantine. As chaos fills the street it is up to Cole to discover the truth utilising his new found super powers.

The story is very much comic book inspire, so much so that one cant help but feel an intense need to race out to the nearest comic store and buy the next issue the second the game ends. Much like the great heroes Cole is faced with great power and as they say with great power comes great responsibility.

You have the option to use your powers for good or for evil, unfortunately it is far more satisfying in a narrative sense to be the hero as the developers has sadly limited the ability to be truly evil. You cannot for example take over the various gangs terrorising the city and in doing so rule over all of Empire City. No matter how you play the game your missions remains the same. You still spend you time taking out members of the various gangs and protecting the innocent all the time hurtling the story toward its amazing well crafted finale.. That being said playing through the game and being evil is still immensely fun though you can’t help but long for what could have been.

The game features a slew of side missions which are fun and will often result in you simply ignoring the main plot of the game in favour of hunting down parcels, protecting buses and getting the trams back up and running all the time using your powers to electrocute villain and climb across rooftops.

As fun as the game is it suffers from a few small problems. The side missions and main missions both suffer from the same problem. You find yourself fighting the same few enemy types while completing the same objectives over and over, but these missions are full of some truly amazing moments which show just how good the game is and manage to make even the most mundane, bland missions worth playing through.

Taking a step back from inFamous and well it has to be said that it truly is a fantastic title. This reviewers complaints regarding it are few and none of them lessen the enjoyment to be had. The sheer ingenuity of the plot and Cole’s powers make inFamous a must own title and one which PS3 owners can feel smug about being able to play.